After all the comments calling both the animation and art style of the ''Professor Layton'' games "Ghibliesque", [[{{Creator/Level5}} Level-5]] decided to one-up the peanut gallery by actually teaming up with Creator/StudioGhibli on a game. The result was '''Ni no Kuni''' (literally - "Another World"), though it's actually two games:* ''The Jet-Black Mage'' - Released for NintendoDS in December 2010, this is a turn-based RPG where you draw magic spells on the touchscreen. Each copy includes a complete Wizard's Companion book.* ''Wrath of the White Witch'' - Release for PlayStation 3 in Japan in 2011 and worldwide in 2013, this was developed separately, but is essentially the same story as the original up to the mid point. Combat is real-time and menu-based.* There is also ''Hotroit Stories'', a prequel for cell phones released through Level-5's ROID service.

While the gameplay is designed by Level-5, all the character designs, lushly animated {{cutscene}}s, and even the soundtrack (composed by the legendary Joe Hisaishi) are all pure Ghibli. Needless to say, this made a lot of people very excited about it from the get-go.

Oliver is a young boy living a tiny, picturesque town loosely based on America in TheFifties. He lives with his mother Allie. He and his best friend have been working on making the best racing kart ever--it's already looking pretty snazzy. To try it out, Oliver sneaks out in the middle of the night for a test drive--unfortunately, he plunges straight into the river. His mother leaps in to save him and pulls him to the shore. The physical exertion is sadly too much for her, and she swiftly [[MissingMom dies of a heart attack.]] Yes, it's that kind of game.

For weeks, the grief-stricken Oliver holes up in his room and cries. His tears fall on a [[UglyCute crude yet lovable]] doll his mother gave him, and [[SwissArmyTears set the spirit inside free!]] The spirit, named Drippy (Shizuku in the Japanese version), reveals to Oliver that he's from another world -- a place closely linked to Oliver's town. There, an evil sorcerer has taken a sage named Alicia hostage. Alicia and Allie are linked, and if Alicia is saved, then there's a chance Allie will be, too. Drippy gives Oliver a magic book, the Wizard's Companion, and Oliver sets out into the other world in order to save his mother.

The most notable feature of the ''Jet-Black Mage'' was that the Wizard's Companion was an actual hardbound 392-page book that shipped with the game and was required to progress through the game. The localization and printing cost of the book is widely blamed for the lack of an international release of that version of the game [[note]]An update for 3DS with a digital copy of the book is apparently a possibility.[[/note]]. When ''White Witch'' was created, the book was included in digital format. However, a limited "Wizard's Edition" release of the title did include the book as part of a luxury collection, [[EverythingsBetterWithPlushies as well as a stuffed doll of Drippy]].

The English dub was done by [[http://www.side.com/ Side UK]] (ProfessorLayton) featuring the vocal talents of 10-year-old Adam Wilson as Oliver and Steffan Rhodri (from Series/GavinAndStacey) as Drippy.

----!!This game provides examples of:* AdaptationExpansion: ''White Witch'' extends the plot-line of ''Jet-Black Mage'', adding characters, locations, spells and mechanics (not only by virtue of the differences between DS and PS3 controls) and removing others and changing certain points.* AdiposeRex: Ding Dong Dell is ruled by a literal FatCat. Curiously enough, his Motorville counterpart is a normal housecat.* AlasPoorVillain: Both Shadar and the White Witch seem like they are unrelentingly evil for no reason, at first. Eventually, [[DarkAndTroubledPast you learn more about them.]]* {{Alchemy}}: Via a [[GenieInABottle Genie in a Cauldron]] named [[PunnyName Al-Khemi]].* AllDeathsFinal: [[spoiler:[[DespairEventHorizon Much to Oliver's dismay]].]]* AllThereInTheManual: The Wizard's Companion has an absurd amount of detail and lore even when it' first obtained. Reading it is sometimes the only way you'll learn the history of some characters and places.* AlternateUniverse: The other world, to a degree; but what really fits this trope is [[spoiler: the alternate Motorville that The Conductor takes Oliver to after you beat the BonusBoss; a Motorville with talking animals and other major differences that Alicia did ''not'' go to; therefore Oliver's soul was never reborn and became a spirit being instead; ie the Conductor.]]** The story in the ''Jet-Black Mage'' and the one in the ''White Witch'' play in different parallel universes. Basic elements are the same, but they diverge in story elements pretty early on. * AmbitionIsEvil: Inverted. Ambition is one of the eight Pieces of Heart, and a ''lack'' of it makes people evil. However, it is also explained in the Wizard Companion that an excess of certain emotions can turn people evil as well, or at least can be self-destructive. This can actually been seen in the game proper: a man in Hamelin's excess restraint is causing him to ignore his hunger and continue researching obsessively, a guard in Al Mamoon's excess courage nearly [[LeeroyJenkins sends him back]] to fight a monster that nearly killed him earlier, and a peddler's excess confidence is causing him to take dangerous business risks.* AnatomyOfTheSoul: Shadar takes the virtue out of people's heart via MindRape; Oliver gets permission from people with excess virtue and gathers that (a spell that doesn't alter their personality, and feels pleasant) to fix said Brokenhearted.** Souls are shared by other world counterparts; what happens to one; something similar happens to their "Soul-Mate."* AnimalStereotypes: Each of the main kingdoms has an appropriate animal theme: the friendly and laidback Ding Dong Dell has cats, the plentiful oasis Al Ma[[PunnyName Moo]]n has cows, and the bold and industrious [[MeaningfulName Ham]]elin has pigs.* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: When Oliver first refuses to help Drippy, the latter then asks for a picture of his mother. He then mentions that she looks exactly like one of the sages from their world who's been trapped and if Oliver frees her from Shadar, he may be able to save his mother in his world.* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Even after unlocking the 4th party member, you still may only take 3 into battle.* ArtificialStupidity: ** AI-controlled party members tend to send out whoever has the highest level into battle. That's swell unless said party member is a fragile WhiteMage who only knows one healing spell and one [[StatusBuff buff]], can only do one point of damage with her harp, has no MP, and so ''only'' uses her harp. Or any other SquishyWizard or GlassCannon reliant on MP.** Casting buffs immobilises both the caster and target, leaving them both sitting ducks. AI-controlled party members never seem to take into account whether it's safe to be out in the open or not.** AI controlled party members have no concept of survival and will ignore things like getting out of the AOE of an attack or defending against an enemy's special attack (which heavily reduces damage). And they'll happily chew through their MP on healing whenever they take damage.** Wandering enemy {{N|onPlayerCharacter}}PCs have no routing, so they tend to walk into walls and attempt to chase you over rivers of lava.** In the controversial BettingMiniGame, the "Platoon" card game's AI has a very rigid structure on how it sets up the cards. It is relatively easy to learn the patterns and max out every game; thus allowing to get all the casino items; including unique high-level familiars, high-level alchemy ingredients, hp/mp restores, and equipment. Which can be sold outside the casino for a lot of money.* BadassCape: Part of Oliver's new outfit when he gets to the other world.* BagOfHolding: The Bottomless Bag.* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler: The party has to navigate the Vault of Tears as [[BewitchedAmphibians frogs]]. This also happens to all of the townspeople (and two kingdom leaders... and a tank) in the three main kingdoms during the beginning of the White Witch portion of the game. The townspeople become various zombie-esque animal hybrids (like a horse-man and fish-woman), while the kingdom leaders turn into more monstrous versions of their original species.]]* BareYourMidriff: Esther's standard outfit, and many of the young female Mamooni [=NPCs=].* BarrierChangeBoss: [[spoiler: Gallus]] switches up what elements he uses and what he is weak to. You can tell by the aura that surrounds him.* BeefGate: When the world opens up, you can go anywhere you want. However, this means that enemies will slaughter you easily.* BigBad: The White Witch.* BigDamnHeroes: Oliver has this when he finally wakes up after learning that [[spoiler: Alicia was Allie, and she cannot be brought back]]. While he was in a comatose state, Vileheart reappeared and Swaine and Esther tried to fend him off, but end up almost dying in the process. Then Oliver comes out of nowhere, and curbstomps Vileheart with the Mornstar spell that Pea gave him. * BilingualBonus: Old Smokey alternate name, "Jabal Al-Dukhan", is Arabic for "Smoke Mountain". Same goes for "Al-Mamoon" ("Safe Place"). Averted with the Japanese names. The French version on the other hand named Old Smokey "Le Kraa", which is Arabic for ... [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar "shit"]].** Ara Memoriae is Latin for "altar of memory". Perdida is Spanish for "lost", most likely a shortening of "la ciudad perdida", meaning "the lost city".** "Tomte" is the Swedish name for a Scandinavian gnome-like fairytale creature. This goes well together with the locals having names like "Ĺke", which are common in the Scandinavian area.** The Magmoiselle creatures have an attack called "Palava". This is actually Finnish for "Burning".* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Oliver defeats both Shadar and the White Witch and saves the other world, but his mother is fated to remain dead.]]* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: The fairies in the game revolve around this for their comedy, making it into a substantial part of their culture.* BossRemix: The music for [[spoiler:Cassiopeia]]'s first form is a remix of the game's main theme. And yes, [[AwesomeMusic it's awesome]].* {{Boss Subtitles}}: Every boss gets one right before they're fought.* BonusBoss: [[spoiler: The Guardian of the World]], as well as rematches with stronger versions of bosses from the storyline.** Shazar (Gallus) and many more bonus bosses from ''Jet-Black Mage'' were integrated in the ''White Witch'' main story and considerably nerfed.* BonusDungeon: Moya Island in ''Jet-Black Mage'' had a 100-floor tower accessed with ItemCrafting of all things, with all-new more powerful enemies and PaletteSwap of bosses that will mop the floor with your Lv.99 party if you aren't careful enough. Shazar (Gallus in the English version) is awaiting you at the last floor, and he is on-par with BonusBoss from the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' series, a welcome change from the easy main quest. There is another pirate BonusDungeon hidden in a star-shaped island.** It was replaced in ''White Witch'' with a portal to the FinalDungeon, but its monsters were reused at various points, like many other BonusBoss from ''Jet-Black Mage''. Gallus himself was reused as TheDragon for the [[FinalBoss White Witch]], but was considerably Nerfed (he no longer has two phases): another BonusBoss (who can be faced after clearing all other boss rematches) replaced him as the ultimate challenge.* BraggingRightsReward: The OneHitKill ultimate light spell in ''Jet-Black Mage'': You get it when you defeat Shazar (Gallus in English), but there is nothing else left to do in the game.** After doing the post-game Conductor sidequest in ''White Witch'', you gain access to the Philmobile. It's... really not all that great, especially when you have a Dragon to fly around in.** The strongest {{Mon|s}} in the game, Mandragorer, rewarded for beating the Rank S tournament in the Solosseum. Since the S rank is only unlocked in EndgamePlus, there's not a lot you can do with it, besides using it against the {{Bonus Boss}}es in the Conductor sidequest mentioned above.* BritishAccents: Characters from Oliver's world (loosely based on America in TheFifties) speak with applicable AmericanAccents, but most characters from Drippy's world (including Drippy himself, who is voiced with a boisterous Welsh accent) speak with BritishAccents, undoubtedly to enhance the [[MedievalEuropeanFantasy fairy-tale, medieval setting]]. The exception is Allie, Oliver's mum, who also has an English accent in Oliver's world. [[spoiler: Who isn't an exception.]]** Which is extra odd for Esther, seeing as how she lives in an city where everyone except the British sounding Queen (who is also the only cow person we ever see in the entire game, so she is already kind of a unique case) has Arabic/Indian accents, including her dad.[[note]]Which goes hand-in-hand with her being the only blonde Caucasian on that half of the continent, including her dad. Maybe her mom was from Ding Dong Dell and had some very strong genes for appearance... and accent...[[/note]]* BrokenBridge: You can't climb Old Smokey and continue the plot until you get the spell to create bridges.* {{Call a Rabbit a Smeerp}}: Babanas (Bananas)** Llapacas look like real-world llamas, but they could also be a cross between a llama and a creature native to South America called the alpaca.* CantDropTheHero: Oliver has to remain in the party even after getting the 4th party member.* CatchAFallingStar: In ''Jet-Black Mage'', [[spoiler:Kublai accidentally knocks Tengri unconscious with his Cloud Sweeper's weapon. Since he is in the sky to battle with Oliver whom Tengri was chasing, the dragon falls from several hundred meters down onto the ground. Oliver can't stop his drop, as Tengri is too heavy for his own Cloud Sweeper. But by using the in-built grappling hook, he changes their trajectory so they land in the sea instead]].* CelShading: Probably one of the best examples of its usage. Coupled with the art style used in the backgrounds, at first glance, you might be fooled into thinking you were watching a traditionally animated movie.* ChildMage: Oliver and young Marcassin.* ColorCodedCharacters: Oliver is blue, Drippy is sky blue, Esther is [[PinkMeansFeminine pink]], Swaine is green, and [[spoiler: Marcassin is purple]].* ConvectionSchmonvection: There is no problem getting right next to the lava on Old Smokey. The characters do suffer damage, however, while climbing along the narrow parts of the trail upward if they get hit by the fire being ejected from the holes in the rock there.* CopyProtection: A rather old-school variation, via the included [[{{Feelies}} feely]] with ''Jet-Black Mage''. To do certain things in the game, you need to refer to the book included with the game and see the corresponding page for the current situation. Without it, you can't proceed normally, and if you try to use Oliver's book, it says that you need to see the physical book instead.* CrapsaccharineWorld: Hoo boy, the other world might look bright and colorful, but there are a lot of dark things going on behind the scenes. * CypherLanguage: Nazcaän is a simple substitution cypher, although the language's I and V analogs pull extra duty doubling for J, U and W (two "V" symbols), as they did in the classical Latin alphabet.* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: [[spoiler:Shadar severed the link between him and his soulmate and cast the soulmate's soul into limbo so that his foes couldn't just use Gateway to find this soulmate and kill Shadar using them. And even when he didn't quite plan for Alicia's (admittedly risky) idea to go to the future in another world to save his soulmate, he was still quite aware of what she had done and who Oliver was to him.]]* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler: Shadar/Lucien, and The White Witch/Cassiopeia have one.]]* DarkWorld: The other world ''is'' one for Earth, or at least, Oliver's town. Affecting one will affect another--early demos describe an angry cat-king, who gets less grumpy when a similarly-patterned cat in town gets taken care of.** A literal DarkWorld appears shortly after the ''White Witch''-exclusive arc begins due to a dark crystal [[spoiler:in all three major cities, and everyone there (aside from children, oddly missing) is turned into zombies you fight.]] ** In the ''Jet-Black Mage'', there is also a DreamWorld you get to as Oliver alone, when you check in the inns. You can solve some riddles there using the book. [[spoiler:There is also a BonusBoss there, on-par with late Moya Tower bosses]].* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler: Alicia, since she is Allie. Cue HeroicBSOD from Oliver.]]* CynicismCatalyst: Lucien's little sister's dead (Natius in the Japanese version). [[spoiler: He eventually abandons all hope in humanity and, under the influence of the [[BigBad White Witch]], becomes [[TheDragon Shadar]]]].* DeadpanSnarker: Swaine and Mr. Drippy.* DeathByAdaptation: ''White Witch'' has the Xanadu Kingdom (Haven in the Japanese version) destroyed with most of its denizens killed. ''Jet-Black Mage'' on the other hand has it alive and well, as an airborne kingdom, much like Laputa, and you even meet the sage there. The sames goes for the Dragon's Lair, Kublai's previous center of operation.* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Lucien and Cassiopia. Given what they turn into as a result, eerily similar to one of the twists in ''PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'']].* DetectivesFollowFootprints: An late game Ding Dong Dell quest involved following footsteps of a familiar that stole something from a town guard.* DiscOneFinalDungeon: Inevitably, since ''White Witch'' added a story arc, this was the case with Nevermore Castle, Shadar's lair, which was the FinalBoss in ''Jet-Black Mage''.* DifficultySpike: The game gets significantly harder after getting the boat and encountering Shadar for the first time.* DismantledMacGuffin: [[spoiler: Mornstar and it's 3 power stones.]]* {{DLC}}: The American version will automatically get the Japanese re-release ones. However; preordering from Amazon gives one the "[[OurGryphonsAreDifferent Griffy]]" familiar, and its level-ups; and pre-ordering the StrategyGuide gives the [[TheBigGuy Gold Hurly]] familiar. Getting the Wizard's Edition gives the Golden Mite and the Golden Drongo. ("Gold" in this case means like the normal familiars, but {{Palette Swap}}ped and higher stats.) There's also a free [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Draggle familiar]] available through the PSN (which is the only way to obtain a ''non''-gold version of said familiar.* TheDragon: Shadar, to The White Witch.* DressingAsTheEnemy: [[spoiler: The party dresses up in Hamelin guard pig armor to infiltrate Hamelin's palace.]]* DualWielding: Not done in game, but Horace mentions that the Wizard King of legend dual wielded magic wands. [[spoiler:The Wizard King's ghost confirms this when he appears in the Ivory Tower: he wielded both Astra and Mornstar who are 'twins'.]]* DubNameChange: Drippy for Shizaku, Esther for Maru, and Motorville for Hotroit. Among other monster and town names. In short, ''anyone'' who isn't named [[TheHero Oliver]] gets subjected into this.** To give an idea of how jarring this can be: Sherry's name was changed to...Myrtle. This despite Sherry being a perfectly good name on its own.* {{Dubtitle}}: While the Japanese dialog track is included, the dialog is all based on the English dub - including the numerous name changes. To the point where it's almost pointless to play the Japanese track considering how very different it is.* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Brokenhearted [=NPCs=] have these. For those who've gone far enough over the DespairEventHorizon to spawn a Nightmare, this is upgraded to RedEyesTakeWarning.* DummiedOut: A close inspection of ''Jet-Black Mage'' reveals the book was once planned to be included in the game, as there is a button for the "Rune Book" in the beta.** Many graphics for scenes that were included only in ''White Witch'' went unused as well. In turn, the (animated!) cutscene for when Oliver first enters Ninokuni is left out, though it can be still be viewed in the casino's theater with the rest of the games cutscenes.** If one views the animations for certain Nobilia type creatures (starting with Mandragorer up to the Guardian of the Woods), one will notice that they all share the same amount of animations with the other familiars, ''including eating animations'', suggesting that they were probably meant to be catchable at some point[[note]]That, or it's just light foreshadowing of something reveal late in the post-game.[[/note]]. Once this is noticed, it also becomes obvious that each of these Nobilia creatures also only have four forms, much like regular familiars.* EagleLand: Oliver's hometown seems to be [[TheFifties 1950s]]-era America; judging by the highway signs, style of cars, and them eating breakfasts like bacon and eggs with silverware.** According to WordOfGod; Motorville (aka "Hotroit") is based on early {{UsefulNotes/Detroit}}. (This is even seen in the dub, as "Motor City" is Detroit's old nickname.)* EasyLevelsHardBosses: Bosses tend to be the hardest part of the game (due to how numerous they are), though enemies acquire instant death spells later on.* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: Prince Ali and Princess Yasmina]] in the Vault of Tears subplot. Their curse is finally broken after ''thousands of years.''* EasingIntoTheAdventure: We get to start the game with Oliver at home and working on a car with Phillip before the adventure begins.* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Some in the {{Four Element Ensemble}}, but there's also TacticalRockPaperScissors.** The Platoon minigame has a similar system. The cards in a standard deck are divided into four categories: Kings, Bishops (Aces), Wizards (Jokers) and Regular cards (everything else) which the player and AI organize into five units. Units with Kings beat any unit with only Regular cards, Bishops beat Kings and units with only Regular cards beat Bishops. Wizards are outside the rock-paper-scissors relationships and instead forces the player and AI to switch units, essentially reversing the usual outcomes.* EndgamePlus: Beating the FinalBoss allows you to reload from the last save. There are now extra sidequests and [[BonusBoss optional bosses]] available.* EpicFail: Though rare, it's possibly to have Drippy use Tidy Tears ''after'' a TotalPartyKill. This... does nothing to help your situation.* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: [[spoiler: Due to the corrupting influence of a dark crystal. [[CharacterDevelopment Marcassin]], the Emperor of Hamelin Empire, joins your party to try to reverse this.]]* EvilSorcerer: Shadar* EvilTwin: Oliver has one, [[spoiler: Shadar.]]* ExactTimeToFailure: Subverted, halfway up the Volcano; Drippy says you have 3 minutes until it erupts; get to the top, he stops the timer and says it was a guess, and that it got you to hurry.* ExpositionFairy: Drippy. Understandable, of course, since he is Oliver's only speaking companion in the other world and Oliver is TheWatson.* FakeDifficulty: The ''mandatory'' DoublePlay in the Trial of Friendship.* {{Feelies}}: The limited Wizard Edition comes with a plushie of Mr. Drippy, and a 340-page hard-bound physical copy of the in-game Wizard's Companion spell book, which contains in-game spells, a bestiary, alchemy recipes and item compendium, and faerie tales.* FetchQuest: What the brokenhearted side quests boil down to, although there are traditional ones.* FighterMageThief: An interesting variation: While Oliver is a [[SquishyWizard mage]] his first familiars are fighters (as well as having the warrior familiar affinity), then he gets Ester who is also a mage but [[WhiteMage has more focus on healing]], and then Swaine joins the group as the only possible thief in the game. [[spoiler: Marcassin just ends up being another mage but comes with a weapon better suited to attacking than magic.]]* FightingAShadow: Drippy explains that the monsters you fight don't die when defeated, but go "elsewhere" and then eventually come back. "Hopefully they'll learn not to fight others the next time. Eventually."* FightingClown: Al-Khemi, to a small extent, is a rare RPG boss example, thanks to his main special attack, "Alakaz...um...", being able to hilariously backfire.* FinalBossNewDimension: [[spoiler: The final two bosses are fought on a platform out in space that The White Witch teleported you too.]]* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: Oliver's Mother's death.* FlingALightIntoTheFuture: [[spoiler: Alicia traveled forward in time in order to find the soul of Shadar's soulmate, which had become lost in limbo thanks to the Dark Djinn's severing of the ties between him and his soulmate. When she discovers it, she uses it give birth to Oliver, allowing one final chance to save the other world from Shadar's reign.]]* {{Foreshadowing}}: Drippy and other [=NPCs=] note that he was with Alicia the whole time. [[spoiler: He really meant that literally.]]** Why can Oliver cast magic when nobody else from Earth can? .....why is there a book of spells hidden in his ''fireplace''?** If you pay attention to Phil during the first few scenes before Oliver travels to another world, [[spoiler:it becomes real easy to tell that indirectly causing Allie's death weighed down heavily on him. It also shows that he's less of a {{jerkass}} than one would first believe, given his attitude prior to her death.]]* FreeRotatingCamera: Even while talking to [=NPCs=]. Basically, in any non-voiced cutscene, the camera is freely rotatable.* FriendlyFireProof: Area of effect attacks don't harm your party members.* FunetikAksent: Drippy. In English, he has a ''Welsh'' accent; and this is transcribed in the subtitles. This can be confusing for people playing with the Japanese audio since it appears as if [[LostInTranslation Drippy's dialogue]] is [[{{Dubtitle}} full of typos instead]].* FunnyAnimal: Cat people live in the other world.* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Myrtle and her Father are reconnecting, Drippy can be seen in the background trying on and modeling an over sized hat.* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Oliver's locket only detects an overabundance of heart when the writers want it to. ** In the beginning of the game, Drippy states that you need a large amount of space to cast Gateway. Makes sense. Except for the rest of the game, you can cast it anywhere you want, even in tight corridors. Presumably the huge amount of space is only necessary for the initial cast, as when Oliver casts Gateway in a cutscene, the cast is limited to a small area in front of him instead of the huge doorway.* GangOfHats: In the dub, all fairies are apparently welsh-accented amateur comedians.* GeniusLoci: The familiars (including all Nobilia types, minus specific non-familiars such as Shadar and Hickory) are all manifestations of "anything that has a soul" which includes people, animals, trees, elements, objects, places, etc. (They're [[JapaneseMythology kami]], essentially; some of them bordering on {{Yokai}}.)* GetOnTheBoat: But you'll need a Letter of Passage first.* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: While the humor remains particularly kid-friendly, there's quite a few things that only an adult would understand. ** During the Old Smoky segment (see ExactTimeToFailure), Drippy drops what is clearly a [[GoshDarnItToHeck G-Rated]] ClusterFBomb.** After you clear The Vault of Tears and reunite [[spoiler: Prince Ali and Princess Yasmina]], Swaine mentions the two would probably like some time alone. Oliver obviously doesn't get it, but the implication is clear. And for bonus points, where do you find the two of them after the dungeon is cleared? In Al-Mamoon's hotel.** Drippy at one point tells a Piece of Heart donator to "[[LieBackAndThinkOfEngland lie back and think of Al-Mamoon.]]" ** When the party meets Horace the ghost in the ice continent, he complains that even he can feel the cold. Drippy replies that it's "cold enough to freeze yer ghoulies off." Even with it being a ghost pun, there's ''still'' little else it could mean in context besides "testicles." It's barely hidden.* GhibliHills: What did you honestly expect?* GirlyRun: Esther.* [[GlobalAirship Global Dragon]]: Tengri, the dragon.* GlobalCurrency: Guilders are accepted in every town in the other world.* GottaCatchThemAll: The familiars. Thankfully in the optional variety of this trope, due to the low catch rate of some familiars. ([[spoiler:Though if you're going for all the Trophies, you'll eventually need 250. Fortunately, this can be achieved not just from catching, but also from evolving lower-level forms.]])* GreatBigBookOfEverything: The Wizard's Companion. A beastiary, alchemical recipe book, lore book, and more all rolled into one. If you know what you're looking for, you can even obtain certain alchemy items and treasures long before you technically get the ability to find them.* GrimyWater: The purple water of the Miasma Marshes poisons the party if it is touched.* GuestStarPartyMember: [[spoiler: Cassiopeia will join you for the final battle.]]* GuideDangIt: Without looking up where to find certain items and how to attain them, reaching 100% completion is nearly impossible, because of the low drop rates. The same goes for certain familiars.* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: The first fight against Shadar is this. Even if you were doing pretty well against him, the battle ends as soon as you take out 1/4 of his HP.* HealingPotion: Food items tend to heal a single person, while the actual potions provide party wide healing.* TheHeartless: Downplayed, thanks to the wild familiars not being ''as'' malevolent as the trope implies; however the Nightmares that possess certain broken-hearted (some even in Oliver's World!) play it straight.* HeroicBSOD: Oliver gets one when he learns out that [[spoiler: Alicia and Allie, his deceased mother, were in fact the same person.]] He continues nonetheless his quest to SaveTheWorld from Shadar (and the White Witch in the PS3 version).** His best friend Phil also suffers one [[spoiler: after his experimental car caused Oliver's mother's death.]] You don't actually find out until quite late in the game, surprisingly.* HeroicLineage: [[spoiler: Every single playable party member is the child of a Great Sage. Oliver is the son of Alicia, Esther is the daughter of Rashaad, and Swaine and Marcassin are the sons of the emperor-mage of Hamelin.]] * HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Oliver continues to fight Shadar knowing that he will die if he defeats him, due to them being [[TheReveal soul mates.]] The only reason he [[SubvertedTrope survives]] is because Shadar severs the link between their souls so Oliver can go on living.]]* HermeticMagic: Wizards in this setting cast spells by tracing runes in the air with their wands.* HighAltitudeBattle: [[spoiler:Kublai and Oliver engage on this on Cloud Sweepers in the DS version. Tengri enters at one point to chase after Oliver.]]* {{Hikikomori}}: Myrtle, due to her father's abuse and strictness, stays in her room even after she gets well until you get the quest to help her.* HongKongDub: The English dub. Not as extreme as some examples, but definitely noticeable in some spots, such as in some of the animated cutscenes. However, the dub seems to be much better for it, as certain characters (like Drippy) benefit from not forcing themselves to precisely match their character's lip sync for their dialogue.* HopelessBossFight: In ''Jet-Black Mage'': the lava female monster, if you go directly to the Volcano Summit before going first to the Cave of Trials.** The first fight with Shadar after getting the boat in ''Wrath of the White Witch''. Oddly enough, ''losing'' this fight still results in a game over.* HornedHumanoid: The Cowlipha, a... giant cow woman.* HumanoidAbomination: Shadar tore himself apart from his soul-mate; casting their soul into the void. [[spoiler: Alicia got it back.]]* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: The Purrprietors and Cawtermasters of the inns and weaponshops as well as the shopkeepers at Swift Solutions look and act exactly the same no matter where you go. The exception is the Fairyground, where the shops are run by fairies dressed up to ''look'' like them. They even try to make the same cat and bird-related puns.* IllGirl: Myrtle is one of these.* [[InGameNovel In Game Wizard's Companion]]: The Wizard's Companion is available to read in game.* [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Wand]]: Astra** [[spoiler: Sky Tree Wand]]* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: You eventually gain the ability to fly across TheOverworld atop a ''dragon.''* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: As open as the game seems at times, you're pretty restricted on where you can actually go.* InternalReveal: There's quite a bit that is revealed to the player, who is waiting to see how the heroes react when the other shoe drops.* InvisibleToNormals: Humans on Earth without magic can't see people from the other world, although some can sense them or magic (like Myrtle [[spoiler:seeing a Nightmare]].) Drippy can't see Pea. (He can see ghosts...)* ItemCrafting: You can do it anytime after battling the genie. Needed to get better items for a reasonable price. Later, you'll have to do this to create dungeon floors, in the original, anyway. In ''White Witch'' you barely have to touch it if you don't want to, though you'll have to if you want to obtain certain Trophies.* ItsNotYouItsMe: A husband in Ding Dong Dell states this as the reason why he can't be with his wife anymore; it turns out that he's brokenhearted and needs some Love.* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: The last Piece of Heart, Ambition, [[spoiler: is obtained from Oliver himself.]]* JigglePhysics: The Cowlipha, but only in the in-game cutscenes.* KidHero: Oliver, of course.* LastDiscMagic: Evenstar and Astra.* LawOfCartographicalElegance* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: Golden versions of some familiars start popping up in certain dungeons during the EndgamePlus, being stronger than the dungeons' regular mobs and usually have the best high-alchemy ingredients on their person.* LevelGrinding: Easily done if you are having trouble with a dungeon or boss.* LevelMapDisplay: The mini-map in the top right of the screen. You can also see the maps of previous dungeons through the Telling Stone.* LevelUpFillUp: But only if a player character levels up, ''not'' any of the character's familiars.* LimitBreak: Picking up a golden glim in battle gives that character/familiar access to their special move.* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: The Wizard's Edition of ''White Witch'', which came with a physical copy of the Wizard's Companion, a plush of Drippy, the sidekick, a soundtrack CD, and some bonus familiars. A promotion led to some art cards and a special coin being added too. * LionsAndTigersAndHumansOhMy: The other world, naturally. The standout is probably the cat king.* LongHairedPrettyBoy: The Prince Marcassin is frequently described as a pretty boy, with the long hair for it too.* MagicalLand* MagicMusic: How Esther's song abilities work.* {{Magitek}}: The Magimech enemies.* ManaPotion: Coffee items restore some MP, while the actual potions restore a lot.* ManualLeaderAIParty* MassMonsterSlaughterSidequest: Some of the errands you can run.* MeaningfulName: "Shizuku" is Japanese for "drop", as in the [[SwissArmyTears teardrop that brought him to life]]. Not to mention his general shape is reminiscent of a teardrop. [[spoiler: And also his backstory in the Wizard's Companion.]] This was maintained with his English name, "Drippy".** "Oliver" is also the name of [[Literature/OliverTwist a certain other famous orphan.]]** In the English version of the game, Esther is the soul mate of Myrtle in the other world. "Esther" is derived from the heroine of Old Testament lore, an orphan Jewish girl who became queen of Persia and saved her people. Esther was born "Hassadah", which means myrtle in Hebrew. Note that their Japanese names, Maru and Shelley, have no apparent connection, outside of a possible, reaching, reference to Mary Shelley, the author of ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''.** The mechanic in Motorville is named "Rusty Cartwright."** The fireworks experts who show up in a cutscene in Ding Dong Dell (and as opponents in the Soliseum) are named Roman and Catherine.** Tying in with StellarName below, the Order of Illusion is made up of three knights named Caph, Segin, and Achird. Fitting, as they are the honor guard of Queen Cassiopeia.* MetalSlime: The [[MyNeighborTotoro Toko]] species. And due to the {{Mons}} system, you can actually recruit and play as them. Fittingly, they're [[LethalJokeCharacter Lethal Joke Characters]]: they (ironically enough) level up ''incredibly'' slowly, but their Magic Defence and Evasion spike exponentially at each level.* {{Metamorphosis}}: Your familiars can go through this to their advanced forms.* MightyGlacier: [[spoiler: Shadar's]] familiar. Exploiting this trope via kiting/hit and run tactics is actually the easiest way to beat it.* MissingMom: Ripped right out from under our noses! Ouch. * MoneySpider: The enemy familiars are always nice enough to leave guilders behind for you.* {{Mons}}: The Familiars. * MonsterAllies: Thanks to the fact that familiars make up almost all the normal enemies in the game, most of them can be defeated and potentially tamed as a familiar.* MonsterCompendium: Available through the Telling Stone and the Wizard's Companion.* MoodWhiplash: Quite a few times, whether humorous or [[DarkerAndEdgier things taking a turn for the worse.]]* MrExposition: Drippy usually fills this role, giving you hints in combat and some basic details on new areas.* MultipleEndings: ''Jet-Black Mage'' has a hard-to-get extra ending for clearing the Moya Tower BonusDungeon.* MysteriousWaif: Pea.* MysticalPlague: [[spoiler:Manna, which causes ash to fall like snow, turning all who come in contact with it into violent monsters. It's also considered a Forbidden Spell, for good reason... at least among those who know about it.]]* NiceJobBreakingItHerod: The BigBad determines by prophecy that Oliver will save their world from said BigBad, so they send a curse at Oliver while he's still on Earth. The results of this gives him the motivation to go to said world and try to save it.* NonStandardCharacterDesign: To a small extent with the mechanics of the Mandragorer familiar, the only Nobilia type the party can obtain. Unlike the other familiars, it progresses through three metamorphs rather than two, with no choice for a final form coming up after the first. It also appears to ''lose'' detail as it morphs, essentially going backwards from a somewhat mean-looking base form (the Wizard's Companion picture of this form makes it look rather ominous) to its baby-looking final form. Finally, it lacks any sort of secondary command (Defend!, Psyche Up!, and Evade!), so it has Flame Fan (a standard, small AOE fire spell) in that place that cannot be switched out. To alleviate this, the species has very high defensive stats and is of the Planet sign, meaning only Double Planet enemies (which are rare to encounter) have a type advantage over it.* NoticeThis: Pots and containers that have items or guilders in them sparkle. As well as the various item find locations on the world map.* NPCRoadblock: The Tomte guarding the Glittering Grotto and the guard blocking access to Perdida.* OminousFloatingCastle: The Ivory Tower, the final dungeon.* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo: The developers originally intended the DS and PS3 versions to be different enough that playing both would be necessary to get the "whole" story. However, this ends up being averted, as the PS3 game is more of an UpdatedRerelease than one of two similar-but-different games[[note]]That said, both games' stories are self-contained, and ''White Witch'' includes dialogue that basically confirms that each version is a parallel world of one another.[[/note]]. There's also a cell phone prequel.* OneGenderRace: All fairies, except for the Fairy Godmother, are male. * OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler: Both Shadar and The White Witch do this.]]* OrcusOnHisThrone: [[spoiler: Shadar averts this early in the game, by coming after the party personally and causing them to get into a shipwreck. He then plays it straight by sitting in Nevermore for most of the rest of the game.]]** The White Witch plays it mostly straight by sitting in the Ivory Tower for the entire game, though in the prologue she sabotages the Philmobile to make Oliver fall into a river and assists Shadar in his task to defeat Oliver by giving him the ability to control storms.* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Drippy and his mother look more like Humpty Dumpty than a traditional fairy. However, the Seed Sprite (among other familiars) encountered in the Golden Grove generally averts this.* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Everyone in the other world shares their soul with someone in Motorville and vice versa. Drippy calls them "soul mates".* ParentalAbandonment: Oliver.* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: Two of them become available after each mode of transportation is acquired for the first time: Ugly Duckling Island, accessible by boat, and Billy Goat's Bluff South, accessible by air. Both house the game's {{Metal Slime}}s, and taking the time to grind in these locations makes much of the rest of the game into a cakewalk.* PetInterface: In ''Jet-Black Mage'', the Familiars can be taken care of in a special screen which allows you to feed, pet, and play with them. ''White Witch'' only has the 'feeding' option left.* PigMan: There's a whole ''army'' of them. Though they aren't actually pigs. They're men with pig helmets. [[VideoGame/{{Mother 3}} Does that remind you of anything?]]* PortTown: Castaway Cove.* {{Pun}}: Almost too many to mention, but one of the [[ShownTheirWork cleverest examples]] occurs in the Vault of Tears -- when the party are turned into frogs, Drippy croaks "rarebit, rarebit!" (as opposed to "ribbit") in reference to his Welsh characterization and the national dish.** And Swaine, the party thief, croaks "Robbit, robbit!" * PunnyName: Most of the monsters/familiars.** Examples include a sheep-like familiar called Baatender, who can later metamorphose into a Baabarian, a thief cat called Cutpurrse (later Purrloiner), a sunshine familiar that can turn into a Wayward Sun... * RainbowSpeak: At least in ''White Witch'' anyway, just about any important location or object is highlighted in red.* RandomDrop: Most enemies drop items. Some rare drops are needed for late game alchemy recipes.* RandomEffectSpell: The Fortune's Fool spell.* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[spoiler: Both Shadar and The White Witch appear to have been around for a long, long time.]]* RecurringTraveller: The gentleman that keeps losing his diary, the merchant couple that keeps getting broken hearted and Horace.* RedEyesTakeWarning: A severely brokenhearted person (enough to spawn a Nightmare) have red irises. * RefusalOfTheCall: Oliver actually refuses to help Drippy at first. Then Drippy makes him AnOfferYouCantRefuse...* RightForTheWrongReasons: Said word for word by Drippy, because Oliver isn't saving his world for the sake of it, but to save his mother.* RousseauWasRight: Most people's problems can just be cured by undoing Shadar's curses.* RummageFail: During one of his attacks, Al-Khemi searches for a weapon that he can use against Oliver and Esther. Sometimes he pulls out a flaming sword (which is naturally better than his usual one)...[[CrowningMomentOfFunny other times he pulls out a parasol and gives Oliver a decent opportunity to strike]].* SavePoint: Generally located at the beginning and near the end of a dungeon. They helpfully restore your HP and MP as well as save the game.* SceneryPorn: This is the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEsJpRpn4Pg trailer]] for ''White Witch''. Note especially at around 0:45. There are two frames: the upper one shows the pre-rendered form, and the lower one shows the real time form. They are practically the same. In other words, you will be ''walking through a Ghibli movie.'' Not that ''Jet-Black Mage'' is any slouch--the DS does cell-shading well, and it features the same sort of hand-painted look for its maps.* SeasonalBaggage: Not quite in the traditional sense since seasons are never seen changing but most of the major islands/countries has a distinct season motif: The areas in Summerlands tend to be bright and hot and is home to a town that must only wear swimsuits, Autumnia is darker with many areas with a death theme, Winter Wonderland is constantly cold and has many snow covered islands, and the fun and lighthearted Teheeti may represent spring with the Fairy God Mother's birth based mission and the fairyground's japanese festival theme.* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: [[spoiler: It's not Oliver who did this, it's his mother.]]* SequentialBoss: Most of the late game bosses either have multiple forms or another boss right afterward.* ShoutOut: Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of shout outs to various Creator/StudioGhibli films...** The plot itself bears a few similarities to [[Anime/SpiritedAway Spirited Away]].** One of the bosses is a pig-tank called [[Anime/PorcoRosso Porco Grosso]].** In ''White Witch'' only, the cutscenes where everyone attack the FinalDungeon are oddly reminiscent of Laputa. Also, some [=NPCs=] refer to it as "A Castle In The Sky."** A popular charm among the Cloud Reaper riders looks like the robot from ''Anime/CastleInTheSky''.** There is an NPC called [[Anime/MyNeighborTotoro My Neighbor Tomtoro]]. Also see MetalSlime.** The Dark Djinn's OneWingedAngel form's face (and especially mouth) looks like the degraded God Soldier from ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind.'' Also, the lost kingdom of Nazcaa's pronunciation sounds similar to Nausicaa.** Ding Dong Dell isn't Ghibli's first [[Anime/TheCatReturns cat based kingdom]].** The ending has [[spoiler: Oliver flying on a broom over his hometown of Motorville,]] similar to ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService''.*** In addition, when you get the errand to deliver curry from Al Mamoon, Drippy refers to Oliver's Delivery Service being in business.** Whenever a piece of heart enters or leaves a person, the resulting light bursts look very similar to the falling stars in ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle''.** One of the [=NPCs=] you obtain ambition from is a boy who dreams of [[Manga/OnePiece becoming king of the pirates and going on a voyage with friends in search of treasure.]]** The events in the Vault of Tears involve a subplot with characters named [[Disney/{{Aladdin}} Prince Ali and Princess Yasmina.]]** The "Broom Broom" spell sounds like what Mickey used in ''[[Disney/{{Fantasia}} The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]''.** Old Father Oak gives Oliver his first familiar and spells to assist him on his journey. Regarding his name, [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue does that sound familiar?]]** "[[Music/SpiceGirls People of the world—come, spice up your lives!]]" - Sheik of Spice, Al Mamoon.** One of the opponents in the TournamentArc is a guy called Poncho Sanza, likely a reference to the sidekick of Literature/DonQuixote, Sancho Panza.** Familiars can learn a poison spell called VideoGame/DarkCloud.** Also, there's an attack called the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Incredible Ulk]].*** Similarly, one default name for a Spike Tike is [[TheTysonZone "Tyke Myson"]]. In fact, there a few familiars whose default nicknames result in {{Shout Out}}s, such as the Naja having [[Music/NickiMinaj "Minaj"]] for a suggested name.** Several overworld locations in Ni No Kuni are named or associated with characters from various FairyTales and famous classic novels.*** {{Jack Frost}}'s Playground*** The Spindle, a Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}} Reference*** [[Literature/RobinsonCrusoe Robinson Island and Crusoe Island]] *** [[Literature/TheUglyDuckling Ugly Duckling Island and Swan Island]]*** [[Literature/AChristmasCarol Scrooge Island and its smaller neighbor Tiny Tim Island]].*** Hamelin, as in Literature/{{The Pied Piper of Hamelin}}, though it is an InNameOnly reference, unless you count its involvement in the creation of [[{{MacGuffin}} the magic flute Clarion]].*** Ding Dong Dell, NPC Tommy Stout, and the plot scenario that surrounds him is based on a British Nursery Rhyme (Alternately called DingDongBell), with the lines, "Ding, dong, bell, Pussy’s in the well. Who put her in? Little Johnny Flynn. Who pulled her out? Little Tommy Stout. What a naughty boy was that, To try to drown poor pussy cat, Who ne’er did him any harm, But killed all the mice in the farmer's barn"** Additionally, continuing with the literary theme, one of the possible default names for a tamed Rabbot familiar is "[[Literature/TheTaleOfPeterRabbit Peter]]", with another one being [[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit "Roger"]].** Other familiar default names also count. For example, Fuddy-Daddy can be called [[LooneyTunes Elmer]].** When King Tom XIV goes missing, Oliver seeks out his Motorville soul-mate, a cat named Timmy. Finding Timmy leads to the conclusion that [[Franchise/{{Lassie}} Timmy('s alternate universe counterpart) is in the well]].** The localization of ''Wrath of the White Witch'' has the one who gives Oliver his first real magic wand refer to the dark sorcerer as [[Franchise/HarryPotter "You-Know-Who"]].** One of [[spoiler: the possessed King Tom's]] attacks is called "[[TheSimpsons Itchy Scratchy.]]"** The late game armor Armor of Justice is said to have belonged to a knight who [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros fought for]] [[Franchise/FireEmblem his friends.]]* ShooOutTheClowns: The White Witch's cutscenes, while understandably serious, have [[YesMan Apus]], and he can be kind of funny at times. Shadar, on the other hand, kills humor ''dead''.* SkyPirates: An entire army of them!* SoftReset: An option from the pause menu. Can make it easier to catch elusive enemies like the Tokos, or help with creatures that have long respawn timers (like the Lumberwood) appear more frequently.* StealthBasedMission: You have to sneak into the Hamelin palace without being spotted by the guards.* StellarName: Seems to be a Nazcään thing. The titular White Witch is named Cassiopeia after the constellation, and her honor guard is made up the knights Caph, Segin and Achird, named after three stars within said constellation. [[spoiler: along with Queen's deceased magic teacher Horace, true name Horologium, the Sage of Ages.]]* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: Oh no, that volcano is about to erupt! Instead of warning all the townspeople to evacuate, [[TooDumbToLive let's go to the volcano and stop it from erupting!]]* SummonMagic: Oliver's Unleash spells.* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: If you encounter a save point (which also heals your HP/MP) and a Familiar Retreat in a dungeon, expect there to be a boss nearby. (Unless it's the halfway point.)* SwampsAreEvil: Literally, in the case of Miasma Marsh.* SwissArmyTears: They bring Drippy the doll back to life.* {{Synchronization}}: Any person and their soul-mate in the other world [[spoiler: with a few exceptions]]. Also, wizards share HitPoints with their familiars.* TacticalRockPaperScissors: Celestial Star Signs. Sun gives more damage to Moon, which gives more damage to Star, which gives more damage to Sun. Planet is neutral, except against double-Planet; which has bonuses against everything else. (There exists double-signs, which have more of these features.)* TheThreeTrials: The Friendship, Strength, and Wits trials in the appropriately named Temple of Trials. [[spoiler:Subverted that there are actually ''four'' trials that a wizard must go through if they want to seriously be considered a sage by Solomon, the fourth being purposely unmentioned (except for a small hint in the Wizard's Companion) as a SecretTest for wizards. This last trial is the Solesseum.]]* TimeTravel: The "Breach Time" spell; it can only be cast once in a person's lifetime. Only in the PS3 version.* TitleDrop: Early in the game, Drippy explains to Oliver that there's "another world"[[note]]''Ni No Kuni'' literally means "Another World"[[/note]], where he hails from. It becomes somewhat LostInTranslation, as half of the game's title was left untranslated and the world is always called "the other world" in the English text and dub. Only players listening to the Japanese track will actually hear the words "Ni no Kuni", though the subtitles always translate it.* TribalFacePaint: The Forest Folk.* TurnsRed: [[spoiler:The bosses of the three [[MysticalPlague manna-infested]] kingdoms all have second phases that activate after their HP is depleted the first time.]]* TwentyBearAsses: Some of the errands you can run.* UnmovingPlaid: The inside of the White Witch's cloak is space and stars.* UntranslatedTitle: A variant. ''Ni No Kuni'' means "Another World", and supposedly wasn't translated for copyright reasons. However, the game's subtitle, ''Wrath of the White Witch'', ''was'' translated.* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The Fairy Godmother swallows the Royal Jelly after believing it to be seafood. It proceeds to attack the littlies and prevent them from being born.* UpdatedRerelease: The 'All-in-one edition' of ''White Witch'' includes a bunch of new critters and an extra difficulty setting.* UselessUsefulSpell: In the DS version's main game, status effects (like poisoning and confusion) tend to be rather useless by virtue of enemies not being as strong as you are (thus not cost-effective) and most bosses being immune. However, there's also [[{{Mons}} Familiar-based]] PVP as well as a few more challenging sidequests where they come in handy. * TheWatson: Oliver.* VerbalTic: All the animal people tend to make puns related to their animal. For instance, whenever a cat says a word starting "pr", they pronounce it as "purr".* VideoGameStealing: Swaine steals from enemies using his ''gun'', with the Mugshot ability.* VoiceOfTheLegion: The White Witch and the council.* [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Wand Of Plot Advancement]]: Mornstar* WarmupBoss: The Guardian Of The Woods. Drippy himself lampshades it, telling Oliver that the Guardian Of The Woods is far stronger than a typical beastie, but he still shouldn't be something that he can't handle.* WeaponOfChoice: Wands for Oliver and [[spoiler: Marcassin]], Harps for Esther, Handguns for Swaine.* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler: Oliver learning the [[TheReveal truth]] about his mother.]]* WombLevel: Mummy's Tummy is possibly one of the most bright and cheery examples in existance, in that it also doubles as a ''preschool''.* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler: Both Shadar and the White Witch suffer from this. Both originally people with good intentions, but certain events pushed them over the edge.]]* WorldOfPun: King Tom of Ding Dong Dell (the cat), to Hickory Dock (a giant mouse, who lives in Ding Dong Well), there's a ''lot'' of puns going around.* WorthlessTreasureTwist: [[spoiler:The result of the The Greatest Treasure of All quest is a tombstone stating that the greatest treasure is "a life spent with friends." Drippy comments that this is a bit pretentious, and later that it's "a load of old rubbish."]]* YouALLLookFamiliar: A lot of the NPC models are reused.* YouCanSeeMe: Drippy calls Myrtle "Starey Mary" because of her tendency to look outside her window for long periods of time, unless someone looks back at her. He tells Oliver only he can see and hear him, until Myrtle confirms that her nickname was "Starey Mary".** One side quest has a girl from the Other World seeing her Other Self in a vision and wanting flowers. Said other self is JUST magical enough to sense Drippy's presence; Drippy naturally does this and then starts shouting at her to get her to react; Oliver scoots away.* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: Oliver must spend a merit stamp card in order to learn how to jump.** Though to be fair this is completely useless, The game itself outright states this. The only reason you even need to buy it is so you can unlock the next tier of rewards. Then again, there is a use for it regarding a familiar named Tin-Man, who is [[MightyGlacier extremely strong and extremely durable, but extremely slow.]] Jumping just so happens to remove this setback, which can make him a full-blown LightningBruiser if you know how to handle him.*** It also counters the frustration caused by being forced to slowly walk inside stores, and since its a touch faster than running, it makes it a little easier to avoid some encounters before you learn the field spell. Also, it instantly kills all sense of gravitas if you, for example, decide to skip down the hallway for your final showdown with Shadar. * YouNeedToGetLaid: Drippy does a G-rated version after one of the many [[ThatOneSidequest Derwin sidequests]]: "This fellow needs to find a girlfriend."* YouNoTakeCandle: The Forest Folk speak like this.* {{You Would Make a Great Model}}: One of the quests involves Con the Artist asking Oliver to find a WildChild and invite her to pose for one of his paintings. Despite Con's PunnyName, nothing untoward comes out of this.* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Not necessarily for the player, thanks to in-game cutscenes explaining things throughout the game, but the heroes of the story believe that [[spoiler: they have saved the world with Shadar's defeat only for the White Witch, the game's real BigBad, to make herself known. Then it is played fully straight after the White Witch's HeelFaceTurn, when the Zodiarchy reveals itself to have developed its own independent and malevolent will]].-----